Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has blamed the defeat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 15 Osun governorship election on the activities of “Abuja politicians” who he said descended on the state shortly before the poll.
Sule spoke on Tuesday during a press briefing in Lafia, where he stressed the importance of incumbency in state elections.
The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, lost to the incumbent governor and Accord Party? Lcandidate, Ademola Adeleke, who secured 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes.
The ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Sule said the APC would not have lost the election if not for the involvement of some politicians from Abuja.
“I’m not going to brag about anything that we are going to do, but what I can tell you is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done well,” Sule said.
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“And then I see some people are actually happy and they are celebrating that APC has lost. APC lost partly because of the Abuja politicians.
“Because if not for some of these Abuja politicians, there was no way for APC to lose in Osun.”
Incumbency Factor
The Nasarawa governor said the outcome of the election demonstrated the influence of an incumbent governor during elections.
“But what it means is that the power of a sitting governor is not something you can joke around. That’s the message that was sent actually in Osun,” he said.
Sule also said those celebrating Adeleke’s victory might not understand the circumstances that produced the result.
“For people who are celebrating, they don’t even understand what the hell they are celebrating,” he said.
“What they are celebrating is that the power of a sitting governor in Osun is what has stopped them from winning.”
The APC has rejected the outcome of the election, while Adeleke has continued to receive political recognition following his re-election.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.